The present invention relates to novel softergent liquid composition to be used in the laundering of fabrics, comprising anionic and nonionic surfactants and an alkyl glycoside in an amount effective to improve cleaning efficacy and to provide improved softening properties in the absence of quaternary ammonium softening compounds.
The use of various and diverse chemical materials and particularly cationic quaternary ammonium compounds as softeners for textile products is very well known in the art. It is also well known to employ such materials for their softening effects during the laundering operation and particularly in the rinse cycle of the laundering process. This latter technique has been necessitated by the fact that the aforesaid quaternary compounds heretofore employed, being mainly cationic in nature, were not compatible with the anionic detergents, one of the major types of detergents used in the washing cycle. Furthermore, cationic quaternary compounds are relatively ineffective in the presence of nonionic detergents.
It is also well known that there is a tendency for laundered articles to yellow or discolor when treated with aforesaid quaternary compounds.
Another disadvantage associated with the use of said cationic agents in the laundering of fabrics therewith is its interference with the deposition on the fabrics of optical brightener, thereby reducing optical brightener performance of a detergent composition containing said optical brightener.
Still another disadvantage of the cationic quaternary ammonium antistatic softener is its interference with the cleaning properties of the detergent by reducing the soil removal effected by the detergent, resulting in decreased washing effectiveness. The presence of the anionic detergent material substantially negates the fabric softening properties of the cationic quaternary ammonium compounds.
Accordingly, aforesaid quaternary agents have been combined with a variety of compounds designed to counteract the adverse detergency properties thereof, or said quaternary softening agents have been replaced by other softening agents in order to improve cleaning efficacy.
Higher alkyl mono-and poly-glycosides useful as detergents, textile softeners, surfactants, gelling agents, food emulsifiers and lubricants; and processes for their preparation have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,598,865; 3,707,535; 3,839,318; 3,772,269; and 3,219,656.
Higher alkyl polyglycosides have been used as nonionic surfactants in a variety of detergent compositions in conjunction with anionic surfactants as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,721,633, and 4,483,787; European Patent Nos. 0,070,074; 0,070,075; 0,070,076; 0,092,877.
The higher alkyl polyglycosides have also been used to improve the detergency of nonionic surfactants in laundry compositions, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,779, European Patent Nos. 0,075,994; 0,075,995 and 0,075,996.
The prior art also discloses detergent compositions containing an alkyl polyglycoside, a conventional nonionic surfactant and a cationic fabric-softening compound to provide both softening and detergency properties during laundering, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,773; European Patent Nos. 0,094,118 and 0,106,692. However these patents expressly omit anionic surfactants as being detrimental to the composition.
European Patent No. 0,015,556 discloses a liquid dishwashing detergent capable of promoting rapid and relatively complete drainage of rinse water in order to reduce spotting and filming on surfaces such as glass, ceramics and metal, comprising a major amount of anionic surfactant and minor amounts of higher alkyl polyglycoside and nonionic surfactant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,981 discloses the use of 1-10% C.sub.2 -C.sub.6 alkyl glycosides as a hydrotrope, i.e. to reduce viscosity and prevent phase separation, in detergent compositions containing nonionic and/or anionic and/or cationic surfactants.
However, none of the cited prior art references discloses a liquid softergent composition for simultaneously cleaning and softening fabrics comprising three essential ingredients, and effective softening amount of an alkyl glycoside which also improves detergency properties and a surfactant system consisting essentially of a major amount of a nonionic surfactant and a lesser amount of an anionic surfactant.